Check Your 'Stolen Personal Information' Directly... Expansion of Fraud History Inquiry Scope

PIPC Announces 'Measures for Preventing Online Personal Information Leakage and Providing Relief'

Song Sang-hoon, Director of the Investigation and Coordination Bureau at the Personal Information Protection Commission, is giving a briefing on the "Online Personal Information Leakage Prevention and Damage Relief Measures" at the government complex in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on the morning of November 11.

[Asia Economy Reporter Eunmo Koo] In the future, individuals will be able to directly check whether their personal information has been leaked and prevent secondary damage by changing passwords or using two-step authentication methods. The scope of inquiry into cyber fraud damage reports will also be expanded.

The Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) announced that it reported and finalized the "Online Personal Information Leakage Prevention and Damage Relief Measures (Measures)" at the 136th National Policy Issue Inspection and Coordination Meeting chaired by Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum on the 12th.

The government prepared these measures to prevent damage to citizens caused by personal information leaks and illegal transactions and to provide prompt relief. The measures were established with four major strategies and six key tasks at each stage of personal information leakage prevention, incident response, damage prevention, and damage relief to ensure the effectiveness of personal information leakage and damage relief.

The PIPC supports citizens in preventing secondary damage by allowing them to directly check whether their personal information has been leaked and to inquire about their internet fraud damage history. First, starting from the 16th, the "Find My Leaked Information Service" will be launched so that citizens can directly check and take action on whether 23 million online account information (ID and password) illegally distributed on the dark web and elsewhere has been leaked. By accessing the service, users can verify whether their account information matches the leaked account information, and if leakage is confirmed, they can visit the sites where the account is used to change passwords or withdraw to prevent damage.

The scope of inquiry into cyber fraud damage reports will also be expanded. Currently, the police agency "Cyber Cop" allows inquiry into fraud report history only by mobile phone number and bank account number, but from December onwards, the scope will be expanded to include messenger accounts and email addresses. The PIPC expects that linking Cyber Cop with online platforms such as Danggeun Market and Junggonara will enhance the prevention effect of cyber fraud.

The illegal personal information trading detection system will be advanced to enable rapid detection and deletion of exposed personal information. The PIPC plans to develop detection technology for unstructured personal information such as video and audio to quickly detect and delete personal information exposed on the internet. In cases where hackers expose personal information for blackmail purposes, urgent blocking and deletion through telecommunications companies will also be pursued.

Before preventing secondary damage, the capacity for safety measures to prevent personal information leakage in advance will be strengthened. To this end, the PIPC will jointly prepare personal information protection regulatory measures reflecting the characteristics of online platforms by industry, such as open markets and delivery apps that collect and process large amounts of personal information, together with the industry. It will also encourage cloud and web hosting companies to provide products to users with safety measures such as two-factor authentication, IP restrictions, and password encryption set as default. Additionally, it plans to promote the manufacture of digital devices that collect sensitive personal information, such as thermal cameras and webcams, in a way that protects personal information from the design stage.

For the public sector, safety standards such as encryption of internet transmission sections by personal information handlers will be strengthened to raise the protection level of public institutions to the same level as the private sector. The PIPC will improve public institution personal information management level diagnosis indicators, expand consulting for insufficient institutions, improve government work evaluation indicators, and enhance the impact assessment system to improve the personal information management system.

A system capable of responding quickly when personal information leakage and exposure occur will also be established. A joint response system will be built with related agencies such as the National Intelligence Service, Ministry of Science and ICT, and the National Police Agency to share information, cooperate in initial stages, and form a joint response team. In particular, if a large-scale personal information leakage occurs, the "Government-wide Joint Investigation Team for Personal Information Infringement Incidents" will be integrated and operated.

The currently different personal information leakage notification and reporting procedures applied to online and offline sectors will be unified to ensure prompt and clear notification and reporting. Considering that leakage mainly occurs online where the spread of damage is rapid, the PIPC is reviewing setting the reporting time within 24 hours.

Related legal provisions will also be improved to enhance the effectiveness of relief for damages that have occurred. First, the subjects required to respond mandatorily to dispute mediation requests will be expanded from the current public institutions to all personal information handlers, including private companies. In addition, fact-finding authority for dispute mediation investigations, such as requesting materials from related agencies, on-site access, and investigations, will be granted.

Furthermore, for cases recognized as collective damage, even if there is no application or the number of applicants is less than the minimum standard of 50 people, the Dispute Mediation Committee will be able to initiate mediation procedures ex officio to practically guarantee damage relief for victims by improving the system.

Yoon Jong-in, Chairman of the PIPC, said, "Considering that large-scale personal information leakage occurs mainly online where the spread of damage is rapid in the era of digital transformation, we have prepared multifaceted measures at each stage of leakage incidents. The PIPC will actively strive to ensure that the right to self-determination of personal information of data subjects is practically guaranteed by utilizing services that allow citizens to directly check whether they have been damaged as an opportunity through these measures."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.